Shotgun or Muzzleloader for Deer

F

flybub

Inactive
Hey everyone. I'm new to the boards and this is a great forum, I've learned alot just from reading and not posting. Here in Ohio our gun season is either Shotgun or Muzzleloader. Right now I have a Remington 870 w/ a smooth bore slug barrel and open sights. I am in a toss up right now to purchase a T/C Triumph or get a descent rifle for ground hogs, squirrels, cans, etc (I don't have any kind of rifle now). During gun season I sit in stands part of the time but also drive part of the time. What are your preferences, would you rather carry a shotgun or muzzleloader?
 
I love shotguns. Particularly 870's.

That being said. I take off the entire week of muzzleloader season every year. Around here it seems to be perfectly timed for the start to peak of the rut and deer are much less wary than during regular gun season.

I'd estimate that 50-60% of the deer I've killed in my life have fallen before a smokepole with another 10-20% to a bow.

By the time gun season rolls around here the deer are getting scarce during legal shooting hours.

In other words, my vote is for the muzzleloader.

T/C are excellent products but don't discount models from CVA if you are trying to stretch your budget a little.
 
I have never owned nor fired a modern style ML and the only time I fired one at all was a Hawkins style at a tree trunk. For me I pass on ML guns as they are not so user friendly. I like to load and unload for different situations. I won't cross a fence with a hot chamber and I like to hike in and out with a hot chamber so i don't hunt with one. I just wait for general gun and hunt my 3 months.
Brent
 
either will do. nothing wrong with getting another firearm. i have hunted with both shotgun and muzzleloader.

the m/l is single shot, has a long range 100 + yards.

the shotgun gives you 3 shots of buckshot or slugs. with a smoothbore barrel and a good line of sight etc. a 75 to 100 yard shot.

took 1 deer with shotgun. have'nt got any with muzzleloader yet. the t/c rifles sound good, never shot one though. if you get a m/l i would try the traditional type first. see if you like it. then get a modern one.

does the shotgun and muzzleloader season run together there ? meaning that you could hunt with either 1 during the season.
 
rem870, the first week of Dec. is gun meaning shotgun or muzzleloader there is then another weekend usually the 2nd or 3rd weekend of December that is shotgun or muzzleloader. The the last week of December is strictly ml, no shotgun. I could use either/or, when my family and i drive the deer some have their shotguns others have their ml's. The only complaints the ones with scoped ml's have is if the deer is too close all they get in their scope is a brown blurr.
 
Where are you hunting in Ohio?

I had a shotgun with a rifled barrel scoped up. Thought it'd be like Illinois - big open fields that deer popped in and out of. Shots over 100 yards.

After scouting the public land out here, I'm convinced a smoothbore with a bead would have done it. That can take you out to 100 with practice. Based on the places I'm looking to set stands up, I'm doubting I'll be presented with any shots over 50-60 yards.

When possible, I would absolutely opt for a shotgun, especially as a new hunter. You have two immediate followup shots in the tube, and reloading is dramatically faster. Unloading is also easier, as Brent noted. And if the weather turns sour or you don't do everything just right, it'll still go bang.

Best of luck!
 
i dont know how your season goes........like someone mentioned some m/l seasons coincide with really great woods time.....here in va you can beat the crowds and get into pre rut........then after regular gun season ends you can still hunt with your m/l (or bow).....effectively giving you alot more hunting time, so for this reason id opt for a nice inline m/l. If its not about the seasons then id prefer a shotgun.
 
I hunt with both, and the smokepole definitely has the edge even if it's only a single shot. Remember that Sharps single shots almost made the bison extinct, and they used black powder too. I've taken deer with ML, bow, rifle, shotgun, and revolver. I shot one with BP and one with the Jennings already this year. We're horn hunting now; the kid wants his first and I know where there's a big buck hanging around. If we can get him to make a mistake this weekend, he's toast. I doubt that he will (they don't get big by making mistakes) but we're going to try him on for size. I just may carry the ML this shotgun season because it has a scope mounted, and my A5 doesn't. It's also a couple pounds lighter than the SG, and that adds up at the end of the day.
 
flybub, it sounds like what NJ has for firearm deer season. up until this season, the last mon. and tues. of nov. is m/l the rest of the week is bow. then the following mon. starts 6 day general firearm. meaning you can use shotgun or m/l. this season its dec 1,2 for permit m/l then general firearm dec. 3-9. no hunting on sunday though. general firearm is the time when the clubs come out of the woodwork.

the following mon,tue. and wed. is permit shotgun. followed by permit m/l to the end of the month. some zones have permit m/l and shotgun together anywhere from the first sat in jan. to the middle of feb. along with winter bow season for some zones too.

crowbeaner, if it sounded like i was knocking a single shot rifle especially a m/l type. it was not my intention and i apologize. i hold nothing against then. its not the number of shots you have its where you put it and that you make it count. that sharps rifle did a number on the bison.
 
bclark1 has some good advice especially if you presently don`t own a m/l. I don`t drive deer anymore but when we did I used a 1100 rem. smoothbore shotgun. Don`t own a rifled shotgun cause where I`ve always hunted didn`t feel need for one.Also, then we hunted alot of public land and if you wanted the deer you better drop him quick. Nowdays I don`t hunt with shotgun, use m/l cause I don`t drive deer,hunt private property and I feel Ohio`s late m/l season is way to short. My personal preference in hunting anything is bow and m/l if I can. If you opt for a m/l get it early enough to see what load it shoots best and practice. By the way they are fun to varmint hunt with also;) P.S. Welcome Aboard. Alot of great people and advice here. Enjoy!
 
I like the muzzleloader, and use it instead of centerfire for rifle season.
I have a Savage muzzleloader. This gun is very accurate, and powerful. I am cranking out a little more foot pounds than a 30-06, ie, I am shooting 3,100 foot pounds.
With the big .45 caliber saboted slug it is a real deer killer.
The Savage shoots modern smokeless powder and you don't have to clean it every time you use it.
I killed a 200 pound 8 pointer last year and I still have not cleaned the gun.
Also, lots cheaper to shoot than saboted shotgun slugs.
I am shooting the Savage for about 45 cents per shot.
The Savage is also more accurate than most shotguns, mine got 1 1/2 inch groups right out of the box.

If you want to unload the Savage when crossing a fence, it is just like a Mauser. Work the bolt, remove, not a cartridge, but a shotgun primer, and the rifle cannot fire. In this condition it is legally unloaded in Wildlife Management Areas.
 
I have heard great things from others on the accuracy of their ML but it hasn't proved out in the two that I own. I do hunt with them during Michigan's ML only season but just do not have confidence in them for much more than my bow distances. I have my choice of three shotguns to use. For sitting on clearings in my blinds I opt for my H&R Bull Barrel l2ga scoped single w/Remington Copper Solid sabots. When I hunt in the woods in elevated stands I choose my Remington 870 Wingmaster 20ga with Remington foster type slugs. On deer drives or still hunting I take my Remington 870 Express 12ga with Federal 00 buckshot. If I had only one to hunt with, it would be the 20 gauge which has accounted for more of my deer than all the other guns put together.
 
The shotgun you have is good enough but having the option of a gun capable of 200 yd accuracy will only increase your options. It all depends on the terrain where you hunt. If 90% of your shots will be under 50 yds and the other 10% are under 100, then you've got all the gun you need. If your land offers everything from point-blank out to 200 yds, having a magnum ML with scope will give you more versatility. The other option would be a rifled slug barrel and scope. The cost would be comparable to the TC and you won't have to mess with shooting a smoke-pole. If you're already experienced with black-powder arms, or want to learn, then that isn't an issue.

That said, I often take both a rifle and shotgun when hunting unfamiliar territory. When I get to the land I can decide which one to use and leave the other one in the truck. Do you have to decide which gun to use before you get your tags in OH?
 
Thanks for the advise everyone. I think I'm gonna splurge and pick up a M/L this week. The terrain we hunt vary from tight woods to open fields of 150 yds or more. Thanks again for the help and insight.

lockedcj7, we do not have to tell them our weapon when we get our tags, that's only when you check in a deer at a check station.
 
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